TWO BIG structures in Sorsogon City — one for the arts and another for sports — are on track with the construction schedule and expected to open by 2020, the Department of Public Works and Highway-Bicol (DPWH-5) office reported. The Sorsogon Cultural Center for the Arts, designed to be the country’s second main arts facility next to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), is a 2,638-square meter edifice that is being built at a cost of P77.6 million. Construction started in Oct. 2017 and DPWH-5 said it “is expected to be fully operational by the year 2020.” Its features include an outdoor lobby, lounge lobby, vestibule, spectators’ area, orchestra pit, performance stage, and a seating capacity of 338 on the ground floor and 177 on the mid-floor level.

BALOGO SPORTS COMPLEX
Meanwhile, the rehabilitation and expansion of the Balogo Sports Complex is also underway and completion is expected by July 2020. An initial P337.8 million was allocated in 2018 for the track and field, and a stadium with a seating capacity of 12,000. Another P250 million was set this year for other facilities in the four-storey complex, while another P300 million is included in the 2020 proposed budget. Sorsogon City has been designated as host of the regional Palarong Bicol in 2021 and the national Palarong Pambansa in 2022.